A Spirited Boy
by Birai
Summary: Guess what- SOMEONE'S DEAD! Open 'er up to find out who, how, and why...
1. No wonder I'm worried

**A/N: Hey guys! Me again, with another Conan fic, believe it or not. Had this one in a drawer for a while (blows off several pounds of dust bunnies BACK foul beasts BACK), and I thought I'd pull it out riiiiiiight NOW! It's here because I couldn't be a Conan fic writer without writing a murder mystery, and because I like writing bizarre things. And, y'know, because I haven't written anything in like a year. Yes, there is a very slight AU, but you'll know it when you see it. This story is not related to anything. Ever. At all. Just so you know. Because it was pretty much finished when I got it, I'm releasing two chapters a day, daily!**

** And if anyone else is wondering how Heiji miraculously ends up in Tokyo for all my stories, he's just as confused as you are.**

"Dad," Ran called inside, "I'm home!"

There was a note on the couch reading _Out on a case, be home before tomorrow._ It had the distinctly illegible scrawl that the girl knew to be her father's.

"_Tsk_, probably playing mahjong again. Where's Conan- CONAN!" she shouted further into the house. "I went shopping, we're going to have nabe!" Silence. Ran shook her head, laughing at herself. Of course, how silly, he wouldn't be here all alone, even her dad wasn't _that_ stupid. Even so, it did seem very odd for him not to have left some sort of notice... She picked up the house phone and dialed Professor Agasa.

"Hello? Oh, Ai-chan, hi, listen, is Conan there? I'm not sure if he... He's not? Okay, well, call my cell phone if he drops by. Thanks." She hung up.

Strange. She felt innately worried, as if this call confirmed something dreadful she'd been thinking. But she hadn't been thinking anything of the sort, and all this meant was that Conan was out with her father, helping with a case.

_No wonder I'm worried,_ she sighed. She put the makings of dinner in the fridge, scrawling out _Oden as soon as I get home _on a sticky note as she realized that she'd forgotten something, and made for the door again.


	2. I thought he was with you?

"Funny call just now," Haibara said to her landlord. Agasa poked his head into the dining room.

"Someone called?"

"Yes. Ms. Mouri is worried about Shinichi's whereabouts. Or, rather, Conan's."

"Oh? Isn't he over there?"

"Apparently not. I saw Koigoro leaving with a client earlier- from what she was about to say, I believe she thinks Kudo is with him."

"Is he?"

"No, not that I saw."

"And this doesn't worry you."

"What concern of mine is his social life?" she gave him a skeptical look.

Agasa would have rolled his eyes, but settled for a heavy sigh. He rifled his phone's contact list and found Heiji.

"Hattori-kun? Yes, are you alone? Good, it's about Shinichi. Is he with you? No? No, I don't know where he is, that's why I called. Kazuha maybe? I see. Well, keep an eye out for him. You too, goodbye." He looked back at Haibara again. "Not with Heiji. Any ideas?"

Haibara turned another page in her magazine unconcernedly. "Relax, professor. He's probably out with the Detective Boys again, you know how they are, he's like a puppy to them."

"Strange... They usually ask me to chauffeur."

"To the park?"

"Oh. I guess you're right."

"Besides, Ayumi called a few minutes ago, asking if I wanted to go out with them."

"Oh, you should have told me! I would have driven you over."

Haibara gave him a look that was statistically proven to be bad for your health. Agasa cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Anyway, we should make sure Ran's okay, don't you think?"

"What's this _we_ you speak of?" Even so, Haibara was fond of Ran, and folded up her reading.

Thus two more were concerned with the welfare of Kudo Shinichi.


	3. Missing?

"Why, is he missing?" Kazuha demanded. A few seconds ago, Heiji had asked her if she'd seen Conan, which she hadn't. Now the detective was frowning at the phone in his hand, expertly ignoring the white noise of the food court around him.

"I don't know. Agasa just called asking about him. Maybe Sonoko..."

"No," Kazuha blocked Heiji from making a call. "I just got off the phone with her, she was definitely alone."

"How could you possibly tell?"

"She's in her bedroom looking at underwear."

_I'd wager a guess Kudo wouldn't be within a hundred miles of that,_ Heiji agreed silently. Instead he just made a face.

"Like I needed to know that... Okay, I'll just call him."

"I'm going to get another soda."

Heiji winced as he noted that he hadn't changed the contact label on his phone from _Shinichi_ to _Conan_. The dial tone sounded faintly anxious as it rang far too long.

_"Hello, this is Kudo Shinichi! I'm not here right now, so leave me a message after the tone. Thank you, bye!"_ BEEEEE-

"Hey, Kudo?" Heiji said softly, glancing back nervously at Kazuha, "Are you out with Koigoro? Agasa called just now, he seems kinda worried. Anyways, I know you probably have your phone off and all, drop me a line as soon as you can."

He flipped the phone closed and yelled to Kazuha. "Oi- let's go check on Ran, she's probably worried."


	4. Awfully Hard

Kudo Shinichi was not one to swear. He thought it rather low to resort to foul language with a number of other avenues for expressing displeasure. Some of them are actually quite fun, and it was even more fun to watch others' expressions at their use. But there were a few choice expletives that really could not be avoided in his current situation, and he shouted them at the top of his lungs at the world in general.

_StupidfrnggnMNGH! I am SUCH an idiot! How could this possibly happen!_ He stared down at himself, blood pooling under his tiny body, thinking that an out of body experience was probably not a good sign. Oh well, if he was going to be insubstantial, at least no one could hear him cussing like a sailor. He clutched his head in his hands. Sort of.

"Why me? _Why me?_ This is something that happens to other people, not me! It- it's like a fireman coming home and finding his house burnt down! How the _hell-_" He looked up as his murderer walked back into the room. "And you, _you!_ Damned _sadist_, how could you, I had a life! Maybe not the best, but it was mine!" The murderer ignored him, walking right through him to throw the murder weapon- a handgun and silencer- out the window. "Oh, sure, that's just great. Insult to injury, of course I don't matter, I'm _dead!_" Conan sighed huffily, seeing his breath in a faint shimmery cloud before his face. He caught a glimpse his reflection in a hall mirror, a pale figure of silver, vaguely smokelike, little wisps of his essence catching on an invisible wind. He got the feeling that if most anyone looked, they would not see him. _It's going to be awfully hard,_ he thought, _To solve my own murder._


	5. Pretty Obvious

"So," Inspector Megure tried to be comforting, but it was very difficult when he still needed to gather as much evidence as possible. "You left to get groceries at about 6:15, at which point the victim was still alive. Or, at least, not dead that you knew of. "  
"Just apple juice, I just needed apple juice," Ran sobbed, bemoaning the fact that she had been so very picky about it. "Maybe if I hadn't then Conan wouldn't be- wouldn't be-"  
"Right. And when you came back at 7:00, you found him like this." Megure tried not to look at the body in the middle of the living room table, feet dangling feebly off the end. It made it all the worse, when someone you knew was murdered, even though Megure had only met Conan sparingly. Still, it felt like he'd lost a close friend.  
Ran nodded. "I- I didn't touch anything. I just dropped m-my bags, right here, I even used my cell phone to call you."  
"What's going on in here?" a voice came from the front room. "Did- did someone die?" Ran's eyes widened.  
"Oh no, Heiji-"  
Heiji stopped cold in the doorway.  
"Wha..." He tried to wrap his mind around the concept that Shinichi was dead.  
"Oh, buck up, you idiot," Conan's ghost was still floating over his corpse. "You're not even my girlfriend." Still, he was touched that Heiji looked like he was about to cry. Ran looked up.  
"Is there a window open?" She looked mildly confused.  
"Not that I know of," Megure said, equally so.  
"Strange... I keep hearing white noise. Like someone's TV across the street or something. Conversation I can't quite make out..."  
"CAN- YOU- HEAR- ME!" Conan shouted. "WHY- DID- YOU- CALL- AN- AM-BU-LANCE? IT'S- PRETTY- OBVIOUS- I'M- DEAD!" The bullet wound to his head kind of gave it away.  
"No, it's gone now."  
"Augh!" Conan smacked his forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." He wasn't sure if he was cursing himself or the laws of nature that made it impossible for him to talk to Ran. Probably the latter.  
"What did we miss?" someone else called up.  
"Oh, God, not her..." Conan groaned. "Sh-she's going to freak out for sure and she'll say my name and Ran will ask why and it'll aaaaall be over. Not that it matters anyway, I'm already dead. Who the cares if Ran knows now."  
Haibara managed a sickening cross between fear, revulsion, and grief as her expression. Conan had long since given up trying to replicate Haibara's emotions, but he had to try just this once, now that no one could see him. He thought that maybe he looked like someone had stepped on his foot. Abandoning the effort, he watched Haibara's expression freeze in place, the indication that she'd turned off emotion in favor of gaining information..  
"What happened?" she asked steadily.  
"Oh, Ai-chan, I'm so sorry!" Ran offered a hug, which Haibara accepted without qualms.  
"Oi, Heiji," Conan waved a hand experimentally in front of his friend's face. "Quit fooling around and look for stuff. I'm decomposing, here." He was torn between being grateful to his friends for their feelings and wanting to catch his murderer as quickly as possible. In the end, professionalism won out.  
Apparently, it had for Heiji, too.  
"Okay," Heiji took a deep breath, steeling himself to inspect Conan's corpse. "It- it's pretty obvious that he was murdered. Bullet wound, even a couple of knife marks, there's no way he could do this himself." Or would, Heiji thought, But I need to keep an open mind about this. Maybe someone found something and he... Or they... Heiji was about to reach for an excuse to leave with Haibara for a moment, when Megure took his shoulder gently.  
"You don't have to do this. It's my job."  
"Th-thanks," Heiji nodded shakily. "I'll... I'll be back. But first, there's something I need to tell you." He whispered something to Megure, who nodded. Heiji tapped Haibara on the shoulder and she followed him out.  
"Look familiar?" Hejii gestured back at the room. "I'm no expert, but I'd bet this is because of that Black Organization or whatever they're called."  
"If that's true," Haibara said softly, "Then I'm dead."  
"What?"  
"Think about it. First him. Logically, next would be me, if it really is Them. We're the two who know the most. Really, you shouldn't be talking to me right now, if you want to stay alive."  
"All that means is we gotta stick together," Heiji gave her a comforting look. "C'mon, if we travel in packs it won't be so easy for them. Heck, we can call Jodie even, get some backup. "  
"I'm sure she would be quite up to that," Haibara smirked.  
"Alright, then. We've got our plan. But first, we need to know how... How it happened."  
"You know," Haibara looked at him seriously. "Megure was right. You don't have to. You can just walk away from this and let them do the work."  
"Now, what way is that to avenge Kudo's death?" Heiji smiled.


	6. Maybe an inch

Conan had a bit of a problem. He'd walked up to every single one of the people there, screamed at them, shouted, jumped up and down, and not one had noticed. He listened in to Heiji and Haibara's conversation, relieved that someone had gotten that far in the proceedings but worried that Heiji wouldn't be up to going further.

In general, things looked bleak. Haibara was most definitely on the hit list, he could tell no one what he knew, and the culprit was still amongst them. His solution was simple, effective, but rather difficult to obtain.

Conan needed someone who could see ghosts.

He knew exactly who he needed, but the only problem was where to find the guy. Getting out of the apartment was no problem, though it gave him the uncomfortable feeling of wearing too-tight clothes as he passed through the ceiling, so he hovered over the building looking down at the city. Where would he be, where would he be...

"No, no, think about it." Conan touched down on the pavement, a few people passing through him as he walked aimlessly about. "Ran was home, so he's definitely not at school. Who would he know...? More importantly, who would he be out with?"

Frenzied giggling bubbled from the building in front of him, and he stopped, turning slightly to see inside. It was a kid-friendly karaoke place, and there was a horde of teenagers taking up a good portion. Conan recognized some of them from his class. The sign on the front said in English "SPECIAL- Sing American Songs for FREE DRINKS!" The crowd looked promising, so Conan slipped through the front wall and listened to who was singing, scanning the people to see if He was there. The song ended, and a new contender stepped up to the plate, tripping onto the stage. As the music started up, a jazzy beginning that promised a free round of sodas and set the crowd cheering, Conan thought he recognized the voice. Resisting the urge to nudge people out of the way, he walked curiously to the front just in time to see...

Eisuke Hondou falling off the stage.

"_Gah!_ Sorry, sorry, the floor is slippery. And has a wire on it." Eisuke rubbed his sore head awkwardly, as a couple of girls helped him up.

"It's okay, Eisuke, go up and finish the song!"

"Yeah, go do it Hondou-kun!"

"Yes, by all means," Conan stared calmly at the klutz, watching his eyes widen. _Oh yeah,_ he thought smugly, _He can see me._ "Go sing while I lie dead on the floor."

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Eisuke started to say something, but forgot what it was. Probably to ask someone for a phone so he could call a mental hospital. "...mmmmmmmmmmI'll be right back... Soon... S-see you, guys!"

Conan decided to try something he'd only seen in movies, where a ghost disappears and is just _there_ wherever the protagonist was. Sadly, this would mean casting Eisuke as the protagonist ("Oh no..." Conan almost said aloud) but it would be worth it just to try. He closed his eyes, aaaand...

...ended up in the exact same place he had been before.

_Oh well, I think I moved an inch to the left,_ Conan sighed, following Eisuke out.

"H-how did you know I would see you?" Eisuke had found a relatively deserted alleyish spot that probably wasn't safe for general use but definitely proved instrumental in talking to someone who no one else could see.

"Wull think about it," Conan shrugged. "You always could see stuff no one else noticed. Remember that first case, out in the snow?"

"I guess..."

"Besides- whenever I try to lie, you see right through me every time!" Conan giggled.

"Ugh."

"Yeah, that was pretty bad, sorry. Listen, I really do need your help! You're the only one who can see me, that I know of, and I'm the only one who knows the truth."

"And what _is_ the truth?" Eisuke had heard most of the story a minute ago, but a few crucial details were missing.

"That the murderer is still among them."


	7. So Monumentally Stupid

** A/N: Great Detective Eisuke, to the rescue! Haibara's doooooomed...**

Megure almost didn't let Eisuke in. "It's just, I really think I can help," the teenager insisted. "I've always been interested in this kind of thing, and I can give you a hand looking for things."

"Don't lay it on _too_ thick," Conan reminded Eisuke. "If anyone finds out that you know what's happened, it'll all be over."

Eisuke didn't nod, but just blinked meaningfully, if it's possible to do so. Their plan was shaky at best, and he still wasn't sure what was going to happen if they actually managed to reveal the murderer, but Conan had reassured him _"Don't worry, I'm sure it will work out!"_. This wasn't entirely as reassuring as could be hoped, since the speaker was dead, but oh well. Eisuke was already there, he _had_ to go through with it now.

"So who's here?" Eisuke asked professionally, hitting his head on the bottom of the staircase above him on the way in. "Owwoof! Sorry, sorry..."

"Why..." Conan was shaking slightly, "In the name of the Baker Street Irregulars... Are you apologizing... TO A STAIRCASE?!?!" But Eisuke could see him, so Conan stifled this reaction and instead made a _keep going_ gesture.

"And, um, why are they present?"

"Ran Mouri," Megure started listing the attendees, nodding to the person he'd named. She bit her lip.

"I came home after shopping at about 6:15, and Conan wasn't there then. I think he was still alive at that time. I'd forgotten to get something earlier, so when I came home at 7:00, he was... Was like that."

"As far as we can tell," Megure put in, "These times match up with that of the death, since he seems to have died at about 6:30."

"What did you buy for dinner?" Eisuke asked abruptly. Ran looked a bit surprised at this question. Eisuke was, too, since Conan had told him to ask it just now, but didn't wonder at its purpose.

"I bought ingredients to make it; I was going to make omurice."

"Omurice..." Eisuke drooled.

"Focusssss," Conan prompted.

"Haibara Ai, she lives just down the street."

"I got a worried call from Ran," Haibara explained, "Asking about Conan-kun, and the Professor asked that I come over to check on her to see if everything was okay." She stared numbly at the table. "I see now that everything isn't."

"Why didn't the professor come himself?" Eisuke asked. Conan had wanted this to be asked sooner or later, since he'd been wondering that himself.

"He had something scheduled- something like a conference discussing the patent of one of his inventions."

"Heiji Hattori- in town to research a project for school," Megure continued.

"I guess it was 6:20 or so," Heiji frowned, "When Professor Agasa called me, asking about Conan. He wanted to know if the kid was out with me. I sometimes watch him so Ran can get to her errands and stuff."

"Who was with you?" Conan asked, before reminding himself that they were investigating _his_ murder. Eisuke repeated the question without batting an eye.

"Just Kazuha," Heiji gave Eisuke a strange look. "Look, all of this is null and void- you can't possibly be suspecting any of us!"

"No," Haibara said softly, "He has a point. Both of us came without prompting to the site, all at about the same time. We could very well have arrived to clear up evidence."

"Youuuuuu," Heiji fumed. "Sometimes you make _way_ too much sense."

"Oh, and one more thing," Megure said solemnly. "Heiji told me something earlier, something he found when he was looking at the body. He said it was very important that I try to keep it a secret from everyone who was here."

"A dying message?" Eisuke gasped.

"Yes, something like that. There was a piece of paper in Conan's pocket, it said very clearly: Shinichi_._"

Eisuke did a double take, glancing over at Conan. The little ghost put his hands up defensively.

"Oi, oi, I didn't do it! I just couldn't say the message outright. It means-"

"Well that's just silly!" Eisuke laughed over the rest of the sentence. "It couldn't have been Kudo-kun! He's been missing for ages! It probably means something else."

"You mean you figured it out on your own?" Conan grinned. "There, I knew it wasn't _that_ hard. Now, go search for other clues! I'd do it myself, but I can't move anything like this."

Eisuke nodded, perhaps at the evidence or perhaps at Conan, and proceeded to scout around the apartment. In hindsight, Eisuke was a first-class scouter, or, he would be, if he didn't keep knocking things over. Room after room, with nothing extraordinary in particular, except for the dead six-year old in the living room. He nosed about the kitchen for good five minutes, looking under the table, and the fridge...

Which, ultimately, was how they solved the mystery.

"Eisuke, you haven't even looked at the cupboards," Conan frowned. "What's- Ohhhh, let me see let me see! Huh. Huh, so that's it."

"You've got it?" Eisuke asked under his breath.

"Yup. Don't worry about the murder weapon, I heard that they just found a gun out in the alleyway under the window, the fingerprinting is inconclusive. Probably wore gloves. All you need to know is the murderer..."

Eisuke nodded as Conan explained, since no one could see him, and walked back into the living room.

"Hondou, what's that look on your face," Heiji accosted him the moment he came back. "You found something?"

"Yes... But I'll not spoil it now. Not when I can reveal the truth in front of the murderer."

"Jeez, you sound like Kudo," Heiji looked mildly resigned. "I'll get everybody in here, shall I?"

"Yes, please."

Conan gave Eisuke a long look, finally chuckling softly.

"Careful, you'll do it better than I could."

In a few minutes, everybody was there and ready to be amazed.

"Thank you all for not leaving," Eisuke said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry for taking so much time earlier. I... I got kind of carried away."

"Bakka," Conan rolled his eyes.

"But I'm sure you'll be satisfied with what I have to tell you."

"Let me guess," Haibara crossed her arms. "You've found the murderer?"

"Exactly," Eisuke looked challengingly around. "And I've concluded that it is one of you."

Silence.

"O-kay, I've heard enough."

"You can't be serious."

"But," Eisuke continued, "Similarly, it is someone who is _not_ one of you."

Silence again.

"Care to say that in Japanese for me?" Heiji asked mildly.

"I think you know what I mean," Eisuke smiled faintly. His plan required that all the officers be missing, and Eisuke had locked the door after drawing the officers outside. After this was done, everything could continue as planned. Eisuke handed Heiji a sticky note. "What does that say?"

"_Oden as soon as I get home,_" Heiji cocked an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out?"

"No, no!" Eisuke looked frantic. "It was on the fridge! Or, rather, under the fridge, which is why the murderer didn't notice it."

"Aaaand, _why_ is this important?" Haibara gave him a Look.

"Didn't Ran say she was making omurice?"

A long pause.

"That has got to be," Heiji stared at Ran, still addressing Eisuke, "the lousiest piece of evidence I've ever seen."

"But it worked, didn't it?" Eisuke said defensively.

"W-what are you saying?" Ran laughed scaredly, "You're trying to accuse me on account of a sticky note? Maybe I just changed my mind, it's perfectly acceptable."

"After you did the shopping?" Eisuke questioned. "There aren't ingredients for omurice in the fridge, you're all out of eggs."

"This is-" Ran smiled surprisedly, "This is insane! H-how can you justify this? I was closer to Conan than any of you were!"

"What makes that the case?" Haibara suddenly smirked. "I could very well be his girlfriend. Oh, and on that note, you really should know by now-" She leaned in closely. "-that Conan _hates_ apple juice."

"Unless you're not Ran, of course," Heiji added triumphantly.

Ran looked from person to person, searching for some comfort in their eyes. Accusing stare after accusing stare met her gaze, and finally she sighed heavily.

"This is idiotic. This is so monumentally stupid, I should just shoot myself right here. But the fact remains," Vermouth smiled, "That I managed to kill him."

It took a good ten minutes to figure out how to get Vermouth's mask and wig off, especially since they had to have someone hold her down. Megure made it in just in time to see the unmasked murderer, and to clap her in handcuffs, leaving the survivors to clean up the mess. Conan's body was taken away, leaving a heavily bloodstained living room.

"Alright, how did you do it?" Heiji demanded. "I refuse to believe you swooped down out of the blue just to solve this case."

"Uh..." Eisuke scrabbled for an excuse. "I, er... Well, that is, um..." He looked over at Conan's ghost, who was observing the scene with some amusement. "Y-you wouldn't believe me."

"This from the guy who used a sticky note as conclusive evidence. Try me."

"Aw, go on," Conan shrugged, "Just tell him. He's believed worse."

"I'll try to explain as best I can," Eisuke started hesitantly. "First of all- do you believe in ghosts?"

Later that day, Ran was found in the hospital for minor injuries, after a suspicious looking man on a bicycle hit her on the way home. How it's possible to have a hit-and-run on a bicycle is beyond me, but Ran says the person barely stopped at all. There was much grieving at Conan's funeral, but since it turned out that the real Ran can see ghosts, it's not the end of the world. Making a judgement call, Haibara waited for a few months to tell her that Shinichi was also dead. No connection was made. Not that she mentioned, anyway.

As for Conan, he hung around poking Eisuke through the occasional mystery. After learning of the situation, Haibara found that she could hear Conan very clearly, though Heiji never did manage it. Vermouth, of course, spent exactly 32 minutes in prison, and soon after hearing of her escape, Conan set off to haunt her. This lasted for about a week, until he realized that she was scaring him more than the other way around.

**A/N: So? How'd ya like it?**


End file.
